Waiting for you
by shadowamypunk
Summary: for so long i waited for you.... shadamy with a couple other pairing references MATURE PLOT AND EMOTIONS
1. i will be waiting for you

His feet came to a standstill on a sidewalk of a large city street, in the older portion of downtown. A day ago someone told him "this would be his kind of place". As if _he_ could have a _place_. His expression soured a bit. The building was surely as old as he was, probably even older, its red brick and worn cement exterior showing years of existence. The detailing carved into the old door gave it a sense of the past, before his closest friend had left him alone to survive this world in silence. There was no sign- it made him smirk- did something so trivial truly need a name? Not to him.

He entered the lower portion of the edifice, prepared for the usual sneers and snide remarks that came with his arrivals, but none came. There were but a few people randomly seated throughout the dimly lit tavern, each indifferent to their surroundings as they solemnly handled their intoxicant of choice. An elderly man stood behind the bar, he had to have been in his teenage years before this anthropomorphic hedgehog was even able to open his eyes, but he seemed solid of mind and even more capable than most of the men half his age. The new arrival remained at the entry until he deemed it satisfactory enough to preoccupy his time and strode to the counter, imperiously sitting upon one of the glossed wood stools. His eyes studied the bottles before him arrogantly- was this what someone felt he needed? Some form of hopped liquid to lower his inhibitions and make him tolerant of the world around him?

'As if an old building offering the promise of a liquid that can slow the mind is what I need. Feh.'

Before his expression of distain could be expressed, he felt the presence of the barman concentrated on him. His crimson eyes turned to make equal contact, both waiting on a signal from the other, when the seated male caught on to why the man was not giving him a look of hatred but simply impatience. It was a tavern, and one did not just _sit _in tavern. One _drank_ in a tavern.

"Humph. What do you think I want?!" He growled agitatedly to the aging man that, without a glance away, produced a large clear glass mug before him, filled with a dark amber fluid.

'Beer? I did not know I gave the impression I was so…. Monotonous.'

The dark furred male lifted the stein to his face- sniffing it discreetly. This was not the same smell he had sensed on drunken passers-by in the streets. This had a heavier weight to it- a faint mix of sweet with a hardened bitterness- much like a dark coffee, and had strength hidden within its liquid depths. It was potent. This was not just some simple-minded fools' cheaply produced beer; this was carefully brewed under strict observation for one reason- to serve its purpose. The dark ebony male looked up to the man with a look of realization. This man could judge far better than expected, and the male's smirk of reserved respect was visible just above the glass rim to the server, who now left the hedgehog on his own to drink the fluid for whatever his own purpose was for him to have appeared in his lounge.

The hops was brought to his muzzle and given passage to his mouth. The cool froth flowed down his throat into his depths, giving him a new sensation to remember for eternity. As he lowered the glass from his lips, he understood how humans could become addicted to this drinkable vice, among the other vices he had been given the opportunity to experience. Resting the mug against the thickly lacquered surface, his devoid expression finally sank into what he had been hiding for months: deep seeded longing over a painful, unable to be reciprocated love and the pleasurable, carnal depravity the two had experienced from it. His crimson eyes dropped to watch the amber brew swirling in its circular surroundings, a never-ending cycle that entranced his mind to pass over the endlessly lingering memories.

He had finally let go of his painfully scarred past with Maria, leaving her to rest in peace wherever ones' end in this world left them, and started interacting with the others of his kind more. Yet he didn't seek a life- until a familiar female crossed his path again. She had grown so much, filling out her teenage hourglass curves so finely and her soft quills extending to match her matured body beautifully. He pined over her before in silence, knowing her interests belonged to the other male of his equivalence, but as she aged, it was growing more and more difficult to resist approaching her to speak alone as they once had in a moment of life-altering decisions aboard the ARK. His plan was to leave her to be happy with his rival and live out his time without the pleasure of feeling loves' liberation, until one fateful encounter.

Cerise eyes slowly drown in the dark fluid, pulling him into reliving every detail of that zealously preserved memory.

"Shadow!" He could hear her sniff away her tears as she wiped her reddened emerald eyes in the pale moonlight. "What are you doing here?!"

"I heard you cry out. I was- concerned." He couldn't help but walk to her. She wore a silky blue tinged, sheer white dress that allowed sight of her soft pink feminine curves and the chemise hiding her regions of privacy from any prying eyes. His sanguine orbs couldn't help but beg fate to make her to reveal them to him.

"I- it was nothing. Don't worry about it." Her head tipped down to hide her sadness from him. He knew she hated letting others see her this way. He'd seen it once, in secrecy, when she thought she was alone here, crying out her fears and desires. He was surprised how close some of their traits where. They fueled him to return here, and to his luck, here she was- sensitively open to his approach.

His hands reached out softly to comfort her and pulled her into his dedicated embrace. "Nothing would cause you to cry like this? I doubt that." He looked to her and lifted her chin to compel her look at him. "I do not worry, but I do care."

Her eyes intensified after hearing him speak. "I think Sonic was tired of waiting for me to be ready for him. We had a fight about it, and he ran off. After awhile I looked for him and found him at Rouge's club. I saw him dancing with her, and they seemed…." Her eyes showed the pain her heart had been experiencing. "Friendly."

Shadow watched her intently. Sonic would not wait for her, but that didn't mean he would not. It also didn't mean he would not take advantage of this opportunity. Shadow quickly brought his lips to hers, tightening his vigorous embrace as he clenched his hands against her body. Amy flinched in resistance, but soon gave into the convincing, fervent affection being placed upon her. It wasn't long before they were both lying on the ground, stripping each other of the materials covering themselves, and Shadow's fate turned his way, just as he had hoped, and she pulled off the chastising chemise to allow him the full view of her lascivious curves. A few nervous touches and unsure shifts later, and he had more than he had ever thought destiny would give him during his extensive life. He had been the one to take Amy Rose's virginity, not Sonic.

The next day when he saw her he warmly greeted her with a passionate kiss and tender embrace. He felt like he awoke from a dream into a nightmare which tore open the pain of existence again when she sadly stopped him and he heard her speak.

"I'm sorry Shadow. I will cherish what happened last night forever, but I can't help but feel like it was all just a moment of passionate lust. Sonic apologized for leaving me like that last night and he wants us to stay together. I have to try to make this work. Please understand."

Shadow felt a tear leave his eye and watched as it hit the swirling amber fluid underneath him, rippling the liquid into a different pattern. Fate was cruel, and vices were just that- evil, degrading immortalities that tore ones' soul apart. He quickly raised a hand to his face to cover the evidence of his moment of decrepitude, and forced himself into feeling the anger that would hide the pain again.

Sonic pulled her back away from him, and kept her from him as much as he could, but he always failed to keep Amy happy in their relationship. He always left her to be the one to wait for him to return. He always made her be the one to compromise for him and his chaotic life of freestyle heroics. He never saw the value in their relationship enough to make sure Amy was happy too.

Shadow smirked in his anger as he added more of the draught to mix in his mind. Finally, Sonic had slipped up bad enough to anger Amy so much as to make her run away, again. Shadow took advantage of the opportunity, again. His smirk increased as he thought over his last night of lasciviousness with the rose that was not his.

She had come to him. She let him touch her, caress her, entice her, undress her. She screamed out his name. He could tell she liked this lubricity better with him- he had never been with another female, while she had Sonic to satisfy her every day- and yet he knew enough to see she was astonished how she felt herself orgasm over, and over, and over until they both could go on no more. They lay together in the moonlight, resting against a tree, Shadow's scarlet streaked arms affectionately holding her naked form to him as he rested his chin on her head, brushing his fingers over her curves.

"I love you Shadow. I wish I could let everything go and it could be just you and me together, forever." He could hear the longing in her voice, but most importantly- she finally voiced the fact that she_ loved_ him.

His voice was robust as always but carried a tender tone with it. "No matter what happens, we are always together in my heart Amy, forever." He softly rested his lips on her forehead, as she rolled over to press her chest against him, and curl her body up against his. Together the two lay there, Shadow admiring the female he loved so much in the shaded moonlight, Amy closing her eyes in content as she nuzzled him in adoration, to spend the night together into the morning.

He smirked in his anger over the situation and his egotism at the idea of why Amy always returned to him. He pleasured her more, even in his lack of experience compared to her other male. He satisfied her completely when she was alone with him. He loved her unconditionally and she loved him the same. But she was weak, too afraid to leave someone who couldn't complete her, for fear of hurting the one that loved her less and the possible exiling by her friends. His angered smirk grew as he watched the chaotic ripples of his drink die back down into their original swirl. He still didn't have her to himself. He still lived in his cycle of constant painful emptiness that occasionally came around to the enjoyment of pleasurable vices. He tilted his head back as the mug reached his mouth once more, taking in the last of the glasses contents and resting it before him with a solid thud, knowing the glass was going to be filled by this salted old man with a talent for his trade and Shadow would drink down the replenished fluids again. He knew he would get his chance with Amy. Together they would cycle through to the end when his formidable determination was going to get her to himself, if fate would only grace a glance his way.

'I'll be waiting for you…. In this place, my place.'


	2. for so long i have been waiting for you

'I've been waiting for you….'

The chilled amber liquid flowed into his mouth again, draining down his throat with it all of the pain in his mind. Shadow had found drinking the perfect vice to consume his troubles, and with each night that troubled him so came the eventual trip to the place where people left him to be, the beers were always cold, and he could exist there solely to drink away his troubles one more night in an endless cycle of uninterrupted desolation.

'For so long I've been waiting for you…'

The bartender knew his habits in this somber place well enough to have the mug replaced before the froth could settle back into liquid at the bottom of the glass, not even making eye contact. No one talked here, and it was just how the black hedgehog male liked it. Words were worthless; feelings even less. Yet every waking day he experienced dragged them up to the surface of his consciousness. As he started downing his mind in another hazing brew, the one name that still haunted him refused to leave his mind.

'Amy'

For two years he had lived this cycle of emptiness and heartache, lust and yearning, anger and frustration, jealous thoughts and longing desire, debauchery and lechery, and through it all he still felt this love. He sat there alone in the same bar he had been appearing in since he found it, his face showing no emotion, yet his mind constantly experiencing the influx of these feelings. He sometimes wondered how long he could keep going like this, seeing the female he wanted more than anything with another male that did not appreciate her as he did. Sometimes he wanted to forget the emotions that washed over him when he saw her. Knowing the one he loved more than life itself was trying in vain to make a life with another tortured him. One night, in a drunken stupor, he almost succumb to one of Rouge's seduction attempts, but before she could even kiss him, he abandoned her. Besides his loyalties to his rose and his worn yet everlasting patience, the thought of being with a female that the partner of his lover saw as an alternate source for sexual gratification disgusted him. He was hard pressed to keep quiet at social gatherings when Amy loyally stayed by Sonic's side while the blue speedster took various opportunities to run off with his ivory bat mistress. He didn't know which was worse, that Amy still cheerily waited for her mate or the fact that the jewel-seeking spy was cheating on her boyfriend with the popular hero. One day he vowed he would tell Knuckles, he was sure of it, but he knew he couldn't take the chance that Knuckles would tell his rose; he could not put that emotional strain on her. He had to let her come to stand by his side on her own.

He sat there in longing, staring at the trinket in his ungloved hand- a pure silver locket and chain. He never filled it, planning to leave it for her to choose what she placed inside as her keepsake. A sigh left his mouth before taking down another swig of the dark lager; he had bought it for her all those years ago, the morning after he had been the one to claim her first, before she could tell him that his thoughts of them finally being a couple were unwarranted. In an acquired habit, he twirled the metal jewelry in his hand, until he finally placed it back into the pocket of his pants.

Smoothing down the cloth of his khaki pants after removing his hand, he looked down to his chest and adjusted the stylish white shirt to allow the matching tuft of blanched fur to be seen, in some deep seeded prayer that he might catch Amy passing his way that night. When they were younger, the males never wore clothes, having no need for the restricting materials, but as they grew and matured they found the benefit of covering themselves better than explaining a difficult situation, and Shadow was no different from the others in this fact. He finally discontinued his grooming to sit there listlessly in realization.

'No matter how much I groom, how good I look, or even how much I care- it will never change the fact that Amy isn't with me.' His melancholy thoughts mixed with another draft of the dark ale as he became more and more languid in his seat at the bar. 'Maybe I really should give up this self-inflicted torture. Maybe Amy does belong with-'

His mind froze when he heard the bar door open and his name called out in a familiar, distraught voice. His stoic posturing didn't give away his moment of mindlessness as he stared at her, trying to clear his drunken mind enough to be sure this was really happening, or not.

Amy Rose stood in the entry wearing a stunningly open necked, glossy black top that showed off the upper portion of her chest quite well, its broad edges resting on the sides of her arms and not the shoulders. Her entire mid-rift was visible under the quickly ending shirt down to the lowest possible point on her hips where her skirt rested without exposing her too much, as the slim, thinly clothed, white miniskirt covered her posterior but allowed slender pink legs to remain exposed down to her matching black high heels, driving Shadow's libido sky high. When his eyes met hers, once more he could see the remnant of tears in her eyes, and new ones building.

Without another thought, Shadow launched himself at her, grasping her fervently and dashing from the bar to spare her from the shame of crying in a place like that. However, he didn't get any further than the side alley of the building before he had pinned her against the brick wall, an exposed hand slipping up her leg to her inner thigh as the other pressed her chest to him. He aggressively pushed his mouth against hers, making her moan longingly into him, only to suddenly pull himself away and spin her around, maneuvering their clothing in the possess, as he leaned them both forward enough to allow him to shift their bodies into a position of ease to begin humping her. He could not go slow; he had waited so long this time he just couldn't. His patience was wearing thin, and this was his cure. He wanted someone to catch them. He hoped he would impregnate her in this instance of coitus. What could Sonic possibly have to say when he found that out? She would finally be his then. He knew he was being selfish in his drunken stupor, but for how long would he have to share her? He could not stand it. It was killing him. How long would he have to watch as others around him had someone to possess while he sat at this nearby pub, letting time pass, alone, waiting for her to realize, if she ever did. He came into her hard. He hadn't felt a release for so long- in any form.

'If fate has any kindness for me, it will seal her to me right now as it never has been favorable enough to do before. I am sick and tired of waiting…'

The begrudgingly sexed female gave a nervous smile up to her lewd male's disgruntled expression from underneath her lengthened bangs. He could see her uncomfortable shifting caused from him taking her so rudely and adding insult to injury, depositing himself inside her. She could tell his patience was wearing thin; she was losing him and she knew it. She wasn't going to make that mistake now. She loved him too much to let that happen. She had been foolish in her concern for the others' feelings, instead of putting the two them, the ones whom mattered the most, first.

"Okay, I deserved that."

Tears filled her eyes and began running down her cheeks, triggering her midnight colored lover to snap from his idiocracy and console her. His attentiveness returned to the forefront of his mind and he apologetically grasped her to him, gingerly swaying her in his arms.

"Oh shit, Amy I am sorry. I am drunk and frustrated, and I took you, undeservingly-"

She kissed him hard to stop him from talking, passionately silencing him while she forced his arms to wrap around her, to which he tightened the hold. "Just take me home with you Shadow, please."

For the rest of the night he went at her, fucking her repeatedly, fearful that each round could be the last time she would allow him to experience the act with her. It was as good as any other moment of intimacy before now, in fact, he tried even harder to pleasure her, but there was a tense air about their interactions and both could feel it. When he finally stopped for the night and laid there next to her exhausted form, the silence triggered his mind to wander down a path he would rather have chosen not to think of in his entire life, the thought of Amy Rose never being _his_ rose. Silent tears slowly filled his eyes, spreading from their ducts to run down his face until she noticed and lightly gasped, in fear.

"I'm going to lose you. I can feel it this time. After so long, and so much waiting…. You have not abandoned him, and I have lost you forever."

Amy wrapped her arms around him to soothe his fears, quickly releasing him to be able to make eye contact while sobbing tears fell from her own eyes into his chest. "Oh Shadow, NO! Please no. I can't lose you! I want to be with you; I can't do this to us anymore- I can't stay with him anymore. I just want to be with you and I don't care what Sonic says, what _anyone_ says, I will stay with you forever. I am never going back, I swear! Please don't give up on me, not when I am finally ready to be here with you! Please? I promise."

He pulled her down to him, burying his face into her neck to silence his emotional outbreak, the only evidence of his tears from his hardly visibly shaking shoulders. Amy hastily brushed down his quills, running a soft hand over his main quill as she hugged him into her, trying to console him. Grasping each other tightly in distress, their exhausted tears died off as they fell into slumber, firmly clenched together and anxiously clasping onto the other's waistline. Shadow slept horribly, the mind-searing alcohol and restless apprehension keeping him from staying still in a nightmarish terror, waking her throughout the darkened hours and making her feel just as uneasy about their status quo.

Shadow awoke with a tempered headache, alone in his shambled bed, sheets torn away from their usual placement, and the only sign of her was a bra sprawled out over the base of his bed. Shadow's cold expression saddened into a forlorn longing. "At least I have something to remember her by."

"What would that be?"

Shadow flinched at the soft feminine voice that caught him off guard, making his ears perk and lean his body back onto his arms as he sat in the middle of the rumpled covers bewildered. His eyes shot up to meet her standing at the door of his room, a platter of breakfast in her hands.

"I thought you might be hungry. You were pretty drunk last night…." She spoke warmly, only shying away from eye contact on the last few words while she stepped toward the mutual sleeping surface.

Shadow could not help but stare at her, not only because of the lack of clothing to conceal her flesh, but more importantly, she was still there, with him. "I thought you would be long departed by this time."

"I don't want to be. I said I was never going back to him, and I meant it. If you'll keep me, I'm yours."

Shadow slowly took in what she said as he sat forward to look at her, speculating, until he suddenly looked to her with a smirk and leaned back into the bed. "You realize he is not going to be happy, and this will be extremely difficult?" One of his red tinged eyebrows raised in curiosity over her answer as he watched her rest the platter before them and sit down next to him, flirtatiously brushing against his arm in the possess. He knew her well enough to have an idea of her answer, and firmly took one of the hot biscuits into his hand, holding it tightly in his palm as he gruffly took a bite into his mouth, chewing the warm dough quietly.

She laid a tender kiss on his muzzle before shifting the plates out of the way to allow her to entice the male into lying back down on their bed with her. "Don't worry, I can handle Sonic."

He felt one of her hands slip over his extremities as another reached behind him to caress his quills lovingly. They made it; they almost didn't, but their love did manage to survive. It would be some work, but he knew they would make this relationship hold tight because he could wait for her, adapt to her, and she would always do the same for him. Something clicked in his mind and he quickly broke away from her to search for his pants.

"What are you doing?!" Amy shouted in concern. She was scared he was leaving or even worse, about to do something reckless, until her eyes went wide at the sight of the beautiful silver locket held up in front of her only to be slowly draped around her neck and latched by her attentive pitch-black male, the one that had always loved her, unconditionally.

Shadow placed his lips softly on her cheek before whispering into her ear. "I love you Amy. This has always been for you, and you carry my heart within it now. Cherish it, and I will be here with you forever. No matter what Sonic says, were will remain together, forever. And should something ever happen to separate me from you- on the other side, I'll still be waiting for you…."


	3. i will always be waiting with you

'I'm still waiting…'

A sable and crimson hedgehog walked up the sidewalk to a simple white house, walking into the small home confidently.

"Amy! Are you ready?"

A pale pink hedgehog with emerald eyes stepped out from the kitchen, a familiar blue tinged, silken white dress hung over her attractive form. He smiled at seeing her in it. This dress would forever haunt his memories, now in a good way. The elegant female approached him, slipping her arms under his quills to wrap them around his neck before she kissed him.

"You kept me waiting, but even still, it's not been as long as I've kept you."

He smirked at her humor. Now he could find it amusing. A month ago, he would have felt the familiar tinge of heartache, but no longer. The last month of Shadow's life had been the best of his existence, and his precious mate's as well.

The two emerged from their domicile together, hands interlocking like young lovers as they walked out to enjoy the sunny weather and the setting amber hued sun. They talked over their perspective days, plans, their past, and their future…

"Sonic asked me to send you greetings from himself and Rouge. I appreciate how civil he has been about all of this, but then he did get what he wanted in the end. I also spoke with Knuckles today. He has been communicating with Tikal through the Master emerald. She said someone is coming for him, and this future mate with be like him, an Echidna. He was quite grateful to find out he is not the last of his kind. I must admit, never thought I would see someone as relaxed about catching his girlfriend with another male as he was."

Amy smiled to her darker hedgehog boyfriend. "Well when I saw Knuckles after he caught Rouge and Sonic together, I wouldn't say he was very calm." Amy looked solemnly to the ground before her feet. "Can you imagine how terrible that must've been? The day after Sonic left the house when we told him about us- he runs off to go stay with Rouge only for poor Knuckles to show up for a surprise early morning visit and catch his best-friend and girlfriend in bed together. If I didn't know any better I'd think he got that cool, levelheaded charm of his back, but it's too bad he had to go through all of that to get to this point though."

Shadow's deep voice sounded so pensive as they stepped off the cement walkway to continue their journey over the naturally covered ground. "We have experienced a lot since we all matured. It's to be expected, but it would have been nice to get to this point with so much less of the dramatics, especially between the two of us."

Amy sighed in woe. "I wish I had more time with you, like forever."

A smirk grew on the black hedgehog's face. "You haven't noticed have you? Since we have been together you haven't aged much at all, unlike the others. I think it has to do with us having such… _close contact." _The smirk grew as he said the last two words, enjoying her expression of flirtation at hearing him.

"Oh really? Mr. Ultimate Life-form" Changing her voice to its sweeter, innocent tone. "And with all this _close contact_ do you think we will have kids any time soon?"

"The likelihood that Rouge will be carrying Sonic's child is greater." Shadow fought down his own insecurity to keep her from hearing his own concern. "I honestly don't know if we can have offspring. Does it matter to you that much?"

Amy smiled brightly to him as she shook her head angelically in response. "No, as long as I get to marry you."

As if on cue, Shadow stopped them from walking any further and took hold of Amy's free hand, making her give him all of her attention until she began to realize where they were, looking around until she fixed her bright, verdant eyes on him with a nervous blush.

"This is our place, where we first connected, where we grew together, and most of all, where we fell in love. I waited for you for such a long time Amy Rose, and now I must ask you-" Shadow kneeled to the ground before her, pulling from his pants pocket a small satin jewelry box. "Will you marry me Amy Rose? Will you be mine, and only mine?"

His eyes eagerly took in her vision, fear and concern mixing with the nervous excitement in him, while he watched her expression of flushed shock grow into a euphoric rapture.

"Ooh, Shadow! YES! Of course I would love to marry you!" She jumped into the patiently waiting male's arms, knocking them both to the ground is her ecstatic bliss. He quickly slid the ring onto her finger before returning to their passionate display of affection, both wanting nothing more than to hurry home to continue their personal celebration, in amorous privacy.

After their moment of ecstasy calmed down Shadow helped up his newly engaged fiancé, and paused their happiness to tell her what his recently healed heart needed him to say. "I waited for you for so long Amy… and now you are finally mine. Forever."

Amy touched his cheek gingerly, her engagement ring shining brightly against their fur. "And I will always be yours Shadow, forever."

* * *

thank you to Prosha, Shade, and Sonicfan18 for their help in reviewing, and most important part, being supportive friends. thank you to those that help inspire me and encourage me every day as well with their great works

inspirational music: New Kids on the Block "Dirty Dancing", Jesse McCartney "How Do You Sleep?", Kelly Clarkson " My Life Would Suck Without You", September "Cry for You", 3Oh!3 "Don't Trust Me", and Metro Station "Seventeen Forever"

inspirational pictures: i looked at my own "I'm Lost in Love With You" on dA, and used Shadow's clubbing clothing choices i had drawn up - i'm sure there are more i cant think of off hand ^^;


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